Sections
Acute Mania | Acute Bipolar Depression | Maintenance Therapy | Rapid-Cycling Bipolar Disorder | Mixed States
Excerpt
In some respects, the treatment of acute mania is among the
least problematic components of treating bipolar disorder. Patients
with bipolar disorder spend much less time in mania, hypomania,
or mixed states than they do in depression. In addition, there are
many effective treatments for mania but few for maintenance treatment
or treatment of bipolar depression. There are four classes of medications
effective in the treatment of acute mania; first-generation antipsychotics,
SGAs, anticonvulsants, and lithium. The pharmacotherapy of mania often
requires combinations of these agents.